Just as head coach Sean McDermott was heading into the locker room to celebrate the victory, he got word that the team would be spending Christmas Eve in Chicago because the blizzard back home in Buffalo forced the Buffalo airport to close. Even though the news was tough to hear, the head coach said the team will make the most of their time together before the weather allows them to fly back to their families.
“I think it personifies that resiliency, and now we got to stay here tonight,” McDermott said. “No offense to Chicago, love Chicago, what a great town, but it’s hard to be away from your family when you work so hard, and you only have so much time to be around them. But as I told the guys after the game, if I’m not with my family, and they’re not with theirs, there’s no other family I’d rather be with than them.”
“Obviously, we wish we could be getting home tonight, obviously with Christmas tomorrow, but try to spend as much quality time with the guys as we can and try to take our minds off that I guess,” Allen added. “We’ll find ways to adjust and overcome that.”
McDermott expressed that the team is grateful for their situation knowing it could be worse. From emergency care workers in Buffalo to members of the military serving overseas, the head coach is sending his thoughts and prayers to those who don’t have the opportunity to be with their families this holiday season.
“Everyone’s health and safety is of the utmost importance, whether it’s us or people back home, No. 1,” McDermott said. “There are a lot of military people who aren’t able to come home at all right now, or people out there — emergency workers. Yes, it’s a shame we can’t get home, but there are a lot of people who have got it a lot worse than we do out there, including some people back home right now.”
